


Why Don't We Dance?

by ChocolateXMyMouth



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Dancing Lessons, Gen, Linda Flynn Fletcher is an amazing mom, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Tap Dancing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, mother-daughter bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:20:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24867484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateXMyMouth/pseuds/ChocolateXMyMouth
Summary: In an effort to bond with Candace, knowing how last summer went with that, Linda wants to do something fun with her. All it takes to get them started is an old find in Candace's room to set them on a path to having the ultimate mother-daughter bonding experience.
Relationships: Candace Flynn & Linda Flynn-Fletcher, Candace Flynn/Jeremy Johnson, Ferb Fletcher & Candace Flynn & Phineas Flynn, Lawrence Fletcher/Linda Flynn-Fletcher
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was literally just talking with kittyhazelnut when we started going off, spouting ideas upon ideas for Linda tap dancing, and its also one of the AUs on my PnF tumblr blog, so that's basically how this story came into existence. 
> 
> Hope ye all enjoy! I've had so much fun on this first chapter alone <3

“I don’t understand it Candace - you’re still sixteen. Why are you so concerned with putting up all this old stuff?” Linda asked her daughter that afternoon. “I’m not upset at all, it just intrigues me.”

“I’m becoming an adult, mom,” Candace said with pride. “It's time I put away all this childish stuff! I’ve gotta mature as life calls, y’know?”

“Uh huh, sure,” Linda smiled, rolling her eyes playfully. “Does this include or not include trying to bust your brothers?”

Candace stopped packing things up briefly. “...We shouldn’t push it, mom.”

“Okay then,” Linda chuckled, continuing to help Candace pack up her “childish” things. “Well, let me tell you, enjoy being a kid while you can. Growing up isn’t as much of a big deal as everyone makes it out to be, y’know!”

“Yeah yeah yeah, taxes and getting a job, having to constantly run errands,” Candace said, putting something else into her box that was precariously close to the edge of the bed. “But you get to do everything you want!”

“Not everything, sweetie,” Linda reminded her softly. “There’s a lot of things I wanted to do when I got older that I’m not able to do, and sometimes I wish I had done them when I was a kid. Is there anything you might wanna do that you haven’t done yet?”

“Marry Jeremy, have a family with Jeremy, buy a house with Jeremy,” Candace said, staring off into the distance dreamily. Linda just chuckled; her daughter was such a character, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

She could do without the busting urges, but it eventually became something she got used to.

However, while her daughter continued on her dreamy interpretation of being an adult, she knocked over the box that was sitting on her bed, and all of its contents fell out onto the floor.

“Oh my gosh, c’mon! I just finished with that box!” Candace groaned, rolling her eyes before going to pick up the contents of the fallen cardboard container.

However, something seemed to catch Linda’s eye.

“Oh, Candace, look!” said Linda, getting down on her knees and holding up a pair of old shoes Candace had put in the box. “Remember these?”

“My old tap shoes? Yes, yes I do,” Candace nodded. “Eh, it was fun, I guess... and I did enjoy it, and yes the taps were like, the prettiest sounds I’ve ever heard, but it's childish and they’re going back in the box.”

“Oh you were such a cute little girl,” Linda smiled, “and now look at you - still as cute as ever!”

“Mooooooooooom!” Candace groaned sarcastically, smiling as she did so.

“But that actually gives me an idea… we’ve not really done anything in terms of quality mother/daughter time this summer,” Linda said, “so…”

“Hmm?” Candace asked.

“Why don’t you and I take an online tap class?” Linda said excitedly.

Candace shriveled up… she didn’t dislike the idea of bonding with her mom at all - in fact she really wanted to, but wasn’t the busting habit enough? Actually… yeah, it probably wasn’t. But still, she wasn’t exactly one to take a great leap into the unknown, especially after doing so much of the same thing this summer over and over again.

“I don’t know…” Candace said, rubbing her neck. “I haven’t done it since I was five, mom.”

“I’m a literal beginner, the very definition of one,” Linda said, sitting down next to Candace. “I’d be learning everything alongside you! And, tell you what, I’ll cover the cost of the shoes.”

“Mmmm…” Candace muttered.

“Can I tell you something?” Linda asked, and Candace nodded. “I really wanted to take tap when I was younger, and when I was about your age, the opportunity came up where I could, but I didn’t take it. I’ve lived with that regret for a long time, and the only reason I’m bringing this up is because I don’t want you to have that same regret. Though, if you feel like you don’t want to, that’s fine as well.”

Candace could tell her mom really, really wanted to do this with her. And whenever her mom wanted to do something with her, and not the other way around, that really showed her that this was something that didn’t get to happen very often, especially with her ‘busting’ habit…

It almost felt like it would be wrong to say no.

Candace sighed, crossing her arms. “...Oh, okay, fine.”

“Yay! Oh this’ll be so fun, Candace!” Linda smiled, hugging her daughter and kissing her forehead. Candace smiled, quite eager at the thought of bonding some more with her mom, but equally nervous about picking up tap again.

Linda was just plain ecstatic. She didn’t tell Candace when she’d be ordering the shoes, so it would be a complete surprise when they finally arrived.

As Candace went back to cleaning up her room with her mom, she found herself mostly just rearranging things instead of actually putting them away. This included her old tap shoes, which she tucked under the bed…

She didn’t know what exactly they meant to her just yet. A good memory, yes, but it wasn’t one she was constantly reflecting on. And now, especially, when her mom was probably gonna buy them matching tap shoes tonight.

Candace sighed… she had a lot to think about.

“Thanks for helping me clean up, mom,” Candace smiled, hugging her mother.

“You’re very welcome, honey,” Linda said happily. “Thank _you_ for agreeing to tap dance with me. I can’t emphasize how excited I am to finally do some proper bonding with you.”

“Me too mom, me too,” Candace said, trying to hide the tinge of nervousness that came with her reply to her mom’s sweet comment.

What if she failed? What if she totally embarrassed herself? What if this was something that just wasn’t gonna work out? What then?

Candace knew this was gonna be hard to get down during dinner… 

**-0-**

The next day, Linda had gone on her laptop to look up tap shoe options for herself and Candace. She was on the couch, scrolling through to try and find the best options for both comfort and price - like a great mother. 

While she was doing so, Phineas and Ferb walked past her. “Oh, hi boys!”

“Hi mom!” Phineas said happily. Ferb waved hello. “What’re you doing on this lovely Saturday morning?”

Linda smiled, before she remembered that she had completely forgotten to tell her boys, both young and the same age as her, of the amazing news. “Oh, I forgot to tell you all at dinner last night - I’m taking up tap dancing with Candace! We’re gonna be doing online classes together! I’m just trying to find us both some good tap shoes because… well, I think you know why.”

The three shared a laugh at that, and Phineas said, “Good one mom! But where exactly would you be doing it?”

“Well, I was thinking about the basement, but it's so cluttered!” Linda sighed, exasperated. “And I don’t wanna do it in Candace’s room because that’s her privacy, but I also don't want to do it in the living room because that would just disturb you all.”

“Hmm… Ferb, I know what we’re gonna do today!” Phineas smiled. “Give us about twenty minutes mom, what all do you need?”

“Oh, you boys are too sweet, you don’t have to!” Linda smiled, patting Phineas and Ferb’s heads individually.

“No, we’re bored anyway, and all of our friends are out doing other things with their families today!” Phineas said happily. “What’s your ideal setting?”

“Well, a couch would be one thing, to rest after we get done,” Linda said, still scrolling through tap shoe options as Ferb took out a notepad after Phineas handed him a pen. “I know we have one but it's underneath a lot of old boxes. Then, I’d think two wood surfaces where we can both dance on would probably be necessary, and finally that flatscreen we have down there that we won at that antique flower pot convention would be really handy to use for hooking up this laptop so we can get the best view for practicing. But that’s really a wishlist more than anything; I’m rambling, sorry, haha.”

“No worries mom! Give us thirty minutes at most!” Phineas said, and with that, he and Ferb made their way down to the basement.

“Such sweet boys,” Linda smiled.

After a good ten minutes of deliberating with herself, Linda finally settled on a pair that she thought was cuter than all the rest. She wanted Candace to be here personally for tap shoe selecting, but she was currently on a date with Jeremy. So, as much as she wanted to ask her in person, she shot her a quick text.

_Linda - Hi honey! Just wanted to ask if you’ve picked out a tap shoe style you’d like me to buy you. Love you sweetie! <3_

Surprisingly (since she expected at least a few minutes of thinking), Candace texted her back almost immediately.

_Candace - Just get me ones similar to yours please! I feel like it would be cutest if we matched. Love you mom, gotta go <3_

_Linda - Alright sweetie! Love you too! :)_

Linda then had a pretty easy time picking out Candace’s new tap shoes, as they were relatively similar, but the heel was a bit bigger. 

It was at this moment she noticed an unusual amount of noise coming from the basement. After placing the shoes into her cart and checking out (trying to keep her excitement to a minimum, because she was _very_ excited), she headed down to the basement to see what all the racket was about.

“Hey boys, are you all- _oh my gosh._ ”

“What do you think?” Phineas asked, smiling proudly at his and Ferb’s handiwork. 

They had put a couch about ten feet back from the brand-new looking flatscreen, the latter ready to be hooked up to the computer for Linda and Candace’s lessons, and two plywood floors that were satisfyingly symmetrical - try saying that five times fast.

“I. LOVE. IT!” Linda squealed. “Oh come here you two! Thank you so much!”

“It was a simple matter of just finding where everything actually belongs,” Ferb said. “After that, it all just came together.”

“The De-Clutterbot really came in handy too,” Phineas added, “I’m glad we kept him around.”

“Where is he now though?” Linda asked, trying to hide her smirk as she knew Candace would be so mad if she wasn’t here to witness it.

“He disappeared right before you came in, I think he’s off to go find his people,” Phineas answered honestly.

Linda just rolled her eyes while giggling. “Well, I hope he finds them for sure. Now come on upstairs, and I’ll fix us some lunch! Spaghetti and meatballs, anyone?”

“Oh yeah!” Phineas said excitedly. Ferb just smiled to show his excitement.

And as Linda began to cook lunch for her boys and herself, she couldn’t help but tap out a beat or two very lightly. 

This was gonna be so much fun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In advance, I warn you: This is the most fun I've had writing a chapter in a while.

“Candace, honey?” Linda called out from outside her daughter’s room before entering. “I have a surprise for you, sweetie!”

“Ooh! What is it?! What is it?! What is it?!” Candace asked excitedly, flinging herself upwards from her resting position on her bed. 

Linda handed her a generic package with a gentle smile, and watched with so much happiness as Candace ripped it open - inside was something she was secretly looking forward to, but mostly dreading out of nervousness.

“M-My new tap shoes?” Candace asked softly, pulling one of the black Mary Janes out of the box delicately, almost like she was scared of it.

“Yep!” Linda beamed, before pointing down at her feet. “And look! Here’s mine!”

She already had them on - they were the same color and type as Candace’s, but with a ton more shine and sparkle. The heel was also a bit bigger, and there was a ribbon tied on her buckle.

“So, missy, what do ya say? Are you ready to start tap dancing, sweetie?” Linda smiled, very excited to start taking these classes with Candace.

“I guess,” Candace shrugged.

“Oh come on, don’t be pouty, Candace! It’ll be fun!” Linda said, still beaming as she turned around to go down to the basement. “I’m gonna get changed into some more workout-appropriate clothing. I’ll meet you down there, m’kay?”

“Okay mom,” Candace said, smiling through the nervousness.

“There’s my girl,” Linda winked, before scuffling off down the hallway, giggling excitedly as she did so. 

Candace didn’t realize it for a few seconds, but she really really liked the sounds that her mom’s tap shoes made...

Yeah, she’d have to do that too.

She pulled off her white slip-ons, tossing them casually into the corner, and gently placed on her new tap shoes in their place. They were really comfy, she noticed, whereas she had expected them to not feel too good. One went on, then the other, and she stood up to get a feel for them.

Candace only ever needed her white shoes, and occasionally a change for a special occasion, so it almost felt weird to be wearing new ones… she clicked her heels, and they made a noise, as predicted.

“Hmm,” Candace muttered, still low-key and very mesmerized. She was now able to make music with her feet - and to be honest, she was really happy about that.

“Let’s test them out,” she told herself, stepping slowly across the carpet, and then onto the hardwood.

_Yep, same sounds as mom’s…_

She then did a few walk-arounds, unable to stop herself from hearing that beautiful noise over and over again… it made her really happy. She couldn’t explain why; it just did!

And then, she turned around - she saw Perry. 

Ugh, what was he doing here? Hadn’t he normally vanished by now?

“What? Don’t look at me like that!” Candace said, exasperated.

“Grgrgrgrgr,” Perry chattered.

Candace then stuck out her foot, and quickly tapped out the same type of patter that Perry had just… said? Made? Oh, whatever, he’s a smelly rodent, no one cares; at least, she didn’t.

He then walked away, seemingly deterred by the tapping noises, and Candace actually felt pretty proud of herself. She had gotten him to bug off! Now she and mom could tap in peace…

“Candace, honey! I’m ready whenever you are!” Linda called out.

“Okay, mom!” Candace said back loudly. 

She walked down the stairs, and the tapping sound she made was getting more and more fun by the minute; she actually wanted to run back up the stairs and go back down them just to hear the noise again.

But, her mom was waiting for her downstairs, so she figured she could tap dance back up them later. Candace click-clacked down the basement stairs, and was really impressed with the setup they had. Linda now had on a t-shirt and some exercise pants, and she had also tied her hair into a bun.

“Wow mom, did you do all of this yourself?” Candace asked.

“Oh heavens no, the boys did it!” smiled Linda, plugging in her laptop, which already had the YouTube class up on it. “They used some cleaner bot to do it, but I didn’t get a chance to see it.”

“Go figure,” Candace rolled her eyes, but she didn’t feel as upset as she normally did. “So, when can we start?”

“My, someone’s eager! That makes me so happy Candace, I’m so glad to be doing this with you,” Linda said. “Or… should I say… _tappy_?”

Candace tried to hide it, but she got a good chuckle out of that pun. It felt so nice to actually be relaxing with her mom instead of trying to get her to come and bust the boys…

“Hey mom, speaking of taps, don’t you just love this sound?” Candace asked, stretching her feet out to make a very quick set of noises with them on her board.

“Oh my goodness, yes, yes I do!” Linda smiled, doing it herself on her own board. The two were almost in sync, then fell out of it faster than they could have ever predicted, and did so with a grin on both of their faces.

“Well, I’d say we’re just about ready to get started, would you?” asked Linda, only needing to press play to begin their first tap class together.

“Yeah… yeah, let’s do it!” Candace said, feeling more determined now than ever. “I’m ready!”

“There we go! That’s my girl!” Linda said, hugging Candace tightly and kissing her cheek with all the extra involved. Candace laughed, trying to tell her to cut it out, but she was loving every minute of this so far.

“Moooooom!” Candace giggled. “Cut it out! We need to get started!”

“Okay then,” Linda said, laughing and finally giving up as the two moved to their respective boards. Linda pressed play on her laptop, and the lesson had officially begun.

“Hello and welcome to beginner tap!” the dance instructor said - VERY loudly.

“Good heavens that’s loud!” Linda said, quickly turning down the volume by about eighty percent. “Sorry sweetie, are you good?”

“Oh yeah, I’m good!” Candace said. “Though it would be nice to still hear the taps instead of this not as nice ringing…”

“Very funny sweetie,” Linda chuckled. “But, I must agree - these taps are really fun noises, aren’t they?”

Candace giggled, doing several on the spot. Linda was so happy she and Candace were finally able to bond…

They then proceeded to get the five minute warmup done and dusted, before finally learning some moves. The shuffle and flap were two moves that they learned first, and while Linda got them down fairly easily, Candace was struggling a bit with the shuffle.

“Ugh! I keep getting my heel caught on the floor!” she groaned. “I’ll never get good at this…”

“Now don’t give up yet, sweetie,” Linda smiled caringly. She paused the video, and held out her hand. “C’mon, I’ll do them in sync with you!”

“Okay,” Candace moaned. 

“You’re probably doing them too fast,” Linda advised. “Do what the teacher said, and do them slowly, and sound it out.”

Linda then demonstrated this herself. “Front, then back; front, then back. Now you try! I’ll do it with you.”

“Front, then back,” Candace repeated, getting the shuffle down slowly. “Front, then back… I feel like a kid.”

“You’re a beginner Candace, you’re not gonna get everything perfect the first time,” Linda said soothingly. “This is how you become better! See, look, you’re shuffling away!”

Candace looked down, and instead of three sounds, she was now making only two as she shuffled back and forth. “Hey, hey I’m doing it! Thanks for helping me, mom.”

“Anything for you sweetie,” Linda smiled.

All of a sudden, Candace remembered she had seen something on the way downstairs - Phineas and Ferb were building some sort of giant snow cone machine outside! It had animatronic snowmen servers and everything!

Oh, that would be an iconic bust…

“Hey mom?” Candace asked.

“Yes dear?” Linda responded, trying to find the cursor so she could resume the video.

“...” Candace was silent.

It had just now hit her that the tap class would be over before it even began if she tried to bust her brothers. Her mom would probably go make snacks for them after the invention disappears; would she even feel like dancing after that?

“...You ready to continue tap dancing?” asked Candace, a genuine smile pursing her lips.

“Thought you’d never ask,” Linda beamed.

Candace decided that today, there were more important things than busting going on. Maybe next time…

Though, she had to admit, it did feel good to not need to worry about busting Phineas and Ferb.

Maybe this could be a good change of pace...

**-0-**

“Whoo!” Linda said, taking a seat on the couch with a smile - and also a sweat drenched forehead, but a very happy heart inside of her. “That was… that was a real workout, huh?”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect that to burn like it did!” Candace said; she was less tired, but wow, tap dancing was a workout in and of itself. And they had only done beginner stuff! However, her soul was just as happy as her mom’s. “What did you think, mom?”

“Oh I loved it,” Linda said. “I think tap dancing is my new favorite thing to do! And that’s saying something when you look at how much I love reading and cooking. What about you?”

Candace did a series of taps on her board, and winked. That was enough of an answer for Linda, who clicked her tongue right back. “So, when can we do this again?” Candace asked excitedly.

“Hmmm… let’s try tomorrow? And then we’ll figure out a proper schedule during the week,” Linda said, wiping her forehead again and taking a massive drink of her water. “But I seriously loved this. Thank you so much for doing this with me, honey.”

“Yeah, you know I was really dreading this, but now I can’t wait for our next tap session tomorrow!” Candace beamed. “Can we make it two hours this time?”

“Woah, simmer down, sweetie,” Linda giggled, “I’m not as young as I used to be, y’know! Tell you what - we’ll have ten minutes each afterwards to do some improv, using what we learned. That sound good?”

“Okay!” Candace said excitedly. “Thanks mom. I love you so much.”

“Aww, I love you so much more,” Linda smiled, hugging her daughter and pulling her closer.

“No, I think I love you more,” Candace giggled. 

“Impossible,” Linda gasped. 

The two spent a good amount of time laughing and talking, realizing how badly they had needed some bonding time all the while. It was so nice to finally just sit back, relax, and tap together… even if, a week ago, they both had no idea they’d be doing it.

“Let’s go upstairs and rest for a bit, okay?” Linda asked.

“Yeah, I agree,” Candace smiled. “Is it okay if I call some of my friends and tell them about this?”

“Of course!” Linda said. “Oh, wait, stretch out your feet for a sec.”

Candace did as Linda asked, and she did the same. She then pulled out her phone and took a picture of them, smiling as she did so. “I got Instagram a few weeks ago, and now I’m finally gonna post!”

“Cool!” Candace said. “Hey, I’ve got an idea - why don’t we do something like, a progress update video every time we practice? To show how far we’ve come later on?”

“Great idea sweetie!” Linda said. “Just think about how good we’ll be by the end of summer.”

“We could enter in a mother-daughter dance competition and totally ace it!” Candace said jokingly. She had no meaning behind the statement she had just made; however, Linda pondered her words for a moment.

“You know… they have a similar event like that at the end of summer-celebration festival,” Linda smiled.

“Oh, oh I was only joking,” Candace said quickly. “Th-There’s n-no way I’m gonna t-tap dance in front of a crowd like that.”

“Alright then! But you be thinking about it, okay? I’d be one hundred percent okay to do it with you,” Linda smiled. “Love you, honey. I’m gonna go upstairs and rest for a bit.”

Candace nodded, before getting up and hugging Linda tightly. “I love you mom.”

“And I love you too, all the more,” her mother said, happily reciprocating the hug.

And as Linda walked up the stairs, continuing to make those tapping noises Candace had grown to adore, the teenager sat back down on the couch, pondering over her words to her mom…

She chose not to for now though.

Instead, she went back to doing flaps around her board.

Tap dancing was going to really be something else.


	3. Chapter 3

“Hi mom!” Phineas said, coming in with all of his friends - they were all in winter clothing, which was really strange, considering it was the end of May.

“Hi kids!” Linda said, paying no notice to their outward attire. “There’s cake in the kitchen if you all want it; I am absolutely winded after my tap class with Candace.”

“How’d that go?” asked Phineas.

“It went _perfect_ ,” Linda beamed. “I can’t stress how fun tap is! I would invite you all to join us, but you all seem so busy already.”

“This is true; although Ferb and I have no interest in doing it, thank you!” Phineas chuckled. “Well, continue to have fun, mom! And Candace too, wherever she is!”

“I think she’s still tapping around in the basement,” Linda giggled. “Be prepared to hear a lot of that noise, judging by the amount of enthusiasm she had about it downstairs.”

On key, Candace came tapping up the stairs, and excitedly walked past her mom, brothers, and their friends; the joke comment she had made was completely forgone from her mind, and all that was on it right now was her tap shoes.

“Hi Phineas! Hi Ferb!” Candace said excitedly - this was already having an effect on her mentally, but it didn’t seem bad at all. In fact, it was rather pleasant! “What do you guys think of my new shoes?”

“Cool!” Phineas smiled.

“They are fitting,” Ferb observed.

“Why thank you! I-wait… what does that mean!?” Candace questioned her British brother. Ferb just smiled and shrugged. “Ugh, guess that was your one line for today...”

“You want some cake, dear?” asked Linda, gesturing to where Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet all were sitting at the dining room table enjoying their cake.

“Nah, not hungry,” Candace said. “But thank you.”

“Alright then,” Linda smiled, “now you all go and enjoy yourselves, okay? Mom needs to recharge for a bit.”

And with that, the Flynn-Fletcher siblings walked their separate ways; everyone distinctly heard Candace going up the stairs, giggling as she did so.

“...Well that’s new,” Buford said.

“I’d say we should get used to it,” Phineas laughed. “Candace seems really excited about it. And I for one, support her all the way!”

“Oh Phineas, the way you support your sister is so amazing,” Isabella said, before covering her mouth in realization of what she just said.

“Gee, thanks Isabella!” Phineas beamed, taking a bite of his cake. Isabella breathed a huge sigh of relief at Phineas’ obliviousness.

**-0-**

Candace was lying down on her bed, resting every sore muscle and joint as she texted the three people who mattered the most to her that weren’t immediate family - Jeremy, Stacy, and Vanessa - about her newfound favorite hobby. She sent them a picture of her tap shoes too, which she still had on.

Yeah, she isn’t taking these off anytime soon.

She pretty much fangirled over tap dancing in a paragraph sent to all of the people previously mentioned, and also how thankful she was/how much she loved her mom for buying them for her.

The first one to get back to her was Jeremy, who was extremely happy for her. 

_Candace - BABE BABE BABE GUESS WHAT! MY MOM AND I ARE TAP DANCING TOGETHER NOW AND I JUST GOT TAP SHOES AND OMG I LOVE THEM SO MUCH AND I LOVE YOU AND AAAH I’M SO HAPPY!!!_

_Jeremy - Good for you Candace! <3 I’m so happy for you!_

“He’s so sweeeeeet!” Candace fawned, texting back immediately. 

_Candace - AAAAAAH THANK YOU JEREMY!!!! <3<3<3 Just so you know, I’ll more than likely be wearing my tap shoes forever, even on dates… is that okay?_

_Jeremy - Hahahaha_

_Jeremy - You know it!_

_Candace - I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BBY_

_Jeremy - Can I see you in action? :)_

_Candace: Yeah!! One sec!!_

Candace then ran to the bathroom (because she had no idea how it would look if she tried to dance on the stairs while a camera was recording her) and she did a few shuffle-ball changes. She knew it was as basic as basic got, but still, she was so proud of herself for picking it up so quickly.

Again, she had to thank her mom, even though she was downstairs and resting. So, her words escaped her lips and were carried away into the walls, and she tapped back to her room after sending Jeremy her little video.

_Jeremy - I love you so much, you’re so good already <3_

_Candace - Thank youuuuuuuu I love you so much too <3_

The next one to text her was Stacy, who was - of course - fangirling with her about her new hobby. However, when Candace picked her phone back up after 

_Stacy - OMG THEY MATCH MINE!!!_

_Candace - YAYYYY_

_Candace - wait_

_Candace - WAIT WHAT_

_Candace - EXPLAIN YOURSELF MISSY_

Stacy then revealed she was wearing tap shoes this whole time. It took about ten minutes worth of watching that little text bubble popping up before it just resulted in two photos of the Notes app where Stacy basically detailed like a conspiracy theory how she had been wearing them this whole time.

Candace didn’t know whether to be proud or offended for not knowing. 

Whether it was blissful ignorance or just plain skill on her or Stacy’s part, however, was not yet known. And to be honest, after continuing to go on about Candace’s newfound love of tap, it didn’t really matter.

And finally, there was Vanessa, who had gotten off of work just a few minutes after Stacy had to go. 

_Vanessa - Wait... since when did you own tap shoes? o.0_

_Candace - Since this morning!!! :D My mom bought me and herself a pair each so we can dance together! It's gonna be our special bonding time over the summer <3_

_Vanessa - So. Jelly. I miss tap a lot :(_

_Candace - ...Then go get u some tap shoes? Yolo bby <3_

_Vanessa - Huh_

_Vanessa - You’re right. :) Thanks Candace. Ily <3_

_Candace - Welcome Vanessa! Love you too boo_

Candace then decided to put down her phone for a bit, and after a while of just laying down and relaxing her feet and mind, she decided to go down in the basement to practice again. She seriously couldn’t keep her feet still - it was almost weird… but the best weird possible.

And of course, after she click-clacked down the stairs and started to walk past her mom, she went over and hugged her to thank her again.

“Oh Candace, you don’t have to thank me every time you tap past me,” Linda smiled and laughed as her daughter hugged her.

“I feel like I do, though,” Candace beamed. “Mom, I was so afraid at first, but now I _love_ tap! It's thanks to you that I do.”

“That warms my heart, honey,” smiled Linda. “I love you so much…”

“I love you too mom,” Candace said happily, hugging her tightly one last time before getting up. “I’ll be down in the basement if you need me! And I don’t have my phone on me, so like, tap the floor or something if you need me.”

Linda got a good giggle out of that one. “Will do, honey! You go off and enjoy yourself, okay?”

“Okay mom!” Candace beamed, throwing herself up and singing a lively tune as she tapped down to the basement.

Man…

This had really just been a perfect day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm legit having so much fun with this story <3 Please, if you don't mind, comment and let me know what ye think! I'd love to hear more about what ye guys would like to see :)
> 
> Thanks for reading all! Love you guys to death. Stay safe out there, every one of ye :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit more cartoon-ish. There's a reason I loved writing this chapter so much :D

It had been about one month since Linda and Candace had begun their journey down this very interesting (and fun!) road that tap dancing led down.

Summer still had over seventy days left, so they were nowhere short on time for practicing. They were having their lessons every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday; Candace was almost always the one who had everything set up, because even though Linda was just as excited to dance as she was, Candace was definitely the younger one.

However, both of them had kindred spirits whenever they danced. 

Linda’s new favorite part of the day was her improv sessions with Candace, and Candace absolutely had to agree - it was so much fun to just dance around and also to watch the other do the same. Several of the videos on Candace’s camera feed were literally just her mom improvising.

And… there were also the nights she slept in her tap shoes.

Yeah, it happened on accident, but Candace wasn’t complaining. If that sound was the first thing she heard when she went downstairs, then her morning started off right! 

So yes, that was the first sound she heard that day - still in her pj’s, Candace tapped down the stairs with the biggest smile on her face. Walking up and down the stairs was a thing of the past to her.

“Good morning boys!” Candace said, click-clacking past them as they did the maze together on the back of their cereal box. “And how are we on this lovely Sunday morning?”

“We’re good, but not as good as you, apparently,” Phineas laughed. “What’s got you in such a good mood, sis?”

Candace gestured to her feet.

“Oh, your tap shoes, that makes sense,” Phineas said. “Should’ve known after hearing your number down the stairs.”

“Hehehe,” Candace giggled happily, pouring herself a bowl of cheerios. “Hey, where’s mom and dad?”

“They’re at the antique store, apparently doing a massive sale,” Phineas said. “All I know is they were really excited about it. Seems like this is just a good morning all around! What do you think, Ferb?”

Ferb’s nods squeaked as he agreed with his brother.

“Well, anyway, you two have fun with whatever contraption you all build! Today is a self care day for me, and myself, and I,” Candace said, sitting down at the table to eat. 

“Those are the best kinds of days! Good on you, Candace,” Phineas said happily, and Ferb gave a thumbs up.

Candace had to admit, it felt odd and very new to not want to bust the boys for their massive contraptions that they were still building in their backyard. But at the same time, that urge to bust her brothers was replaced by a love for tapping alongside her mom, and that felt so much better because there, she could actually make some progress towards the ultimate goal!

“You all have any idea when mom and dad will be home?” asked Candace.

“Not really, but she did mention wanting to go to the mall with you,” Phineas said. “Awesome! Thanks Phineas!” Candace said, finishing her cereal in a record amount of time before skipping off to the basement.

“Candace seems so happy lately,” Phineas smiled, “and that makes me happy for her!”

Ferb nodded in agreement.

**-0-**

Sure enough, when Linda got home, she asked Candace if she wanted to go to the mall. Candace, of course, said yes immediately, And then went up to her room to get ready.

As she was getting ready however, she noticed that she still had on her tap shoes. She really did not feel like taking them off right now… it couldn't hurt to wear them for one outing, right?

“Hey mom!” Candace called out.

“Yes, honey?” Linda asked, walking past her room.

“Would you be okay with me wearing my tap shoes to the mall?” Candace asked. “I really don’t wanna take them off. Normal shoes are just so boring to me now.”

Linda got a giggle out of that comment. “...Well, they’re your shoes, Candace,” Linda said, shrugging. “If you wanna wear them, that’s fine by me! I’ll be keeping mine in my purse, though - just in case.”

“Okay mom! Thank you!” Candace said, standing up and clicking her heels victoriously as she walked out of her room. “Wait… what do you mean, ‘just in case’?”

“Oh, you never know in this world of ours,” Linda winked at her daughter. Candace had absolutely no idea what that meant, but she just went with it as Linda kissed Lawrence and rubbed Phineas and Ferb’s heads as she exited the house with Candace.

“Now, I feel like this is necessary to ask - are you gonna make us come home to bust your brothers? It's been… twenty two days since you’ve tried, hon. It’s scaring me,” Linda said with a smile.

“Oh, dear, sweet mother of mine - the best in the world!” Candace said, dramatically but meaning every word of it, “What also happened twenty two days ago?” “We started tap dancing together,” Linda said, remembering that day vividly.

“The need to bust my brothers has been taken over by my need to tap dance,” Candace said bluntly. As a matter of fact, she looked in the backyard at that very moment, and a giant… hot air balloon?... was rising up above the house. Basic, but innovative. 

“...Candace, this is quite possibly the happiest news you’ve ever told me,” Linda beamed. “Does this mean, just in theory, instead of dragging me home to bust the boys, you’ll be trying to get me to come home so we can tap together?”

Candace winked at her mom. That was a pretty good sign of her answer. Linda was almost uncontrollably happy for the rest of the car ride to the mall.

Speaking of which, that didn’t actually take too long - they were there in a matter of minutes. 

Candace had read online that pavement and concrete were extremely bad for tap shoes, but as she walked across the parking lot, it almost felt cartoonishly smooth. Weird.

They entered the mall with little idea of what they would be doing that day, however Candace spotted something that immediately caught her attention.

“Oooh! Mom! Look! They’re having a talent jam!” Candace said.

“What’s that?” Linda asked, looking at the stage of questionable quality and the performer on it, who was currently painting a pretty beautiful landscape. There was a small trio of musicians providing a soundtrack to the whole thing as well.

“It's one of those mini concerts, I guess, but anyone can enter!” Candace said. “...Hey, wait a minute, you wanna enter mom? We can tap dance together!”

“O-Oh, you… you wanna enter?” Linda asked.

“Yea-wait, what’s wrong mom?” asked Candace. “You seemed really enthusiastic about entering the mother/daughter dance competition. What’s different about this?”

“Candace, you’ve seen me,” Linda said, “I can learn steps pretty easily, but I can’t improv as good as you can, especially to music and staying on beat. I’d need practice! And plus, if I did do this, I-I don’t wanna embarrass you, honey...”

“Embarrass me? Wearing _these_ bad boys?” Candace asked, smiling and gesturing to her feet. “Mom, I’d wanna do it with you for fun! And plus, for once, the crowd isn’t filming every little thing, we’d be just fine!”

Linda inhaled deeply… she saw Candace really wanted to do this. And the only thing keeping herself from doing this with her was the fear of embarrassing Candace… but that fear didn’t seem to be shared between them.

And that was what gave Linda the confidence to say…

“Oh, what the heck, let’s do it!” Linda smiled, shrugging to say ‘what could go wrong?’ “But let’s actually go explore some stores first; I’ll need to psych myself up to it, okay?”

“Sounds good!” smiled Candace. “The jam’s from now to six, so we’ve got plenty of time anyway. Now, I saw a really cool dress store on our way in…”

**-0-**

“So like, you just go up on stage? That still seems like it shouldn’t be how regulations go,” Linda said; she was currently sitting on a bench with Candace, putting on her tap shoes so she and Candace could just enter and get right to it.

“Yeah, it's a bit weird, but I’ve seen YouTube videos about this,” Candace said, “and this one doesn’t seem out of the ordinary.”

“Well, alright then! I got em on,” Linda said, doing a few stationary taps. “You ready?”

Candace smiled, then stood up and did a little combo. “Ready when you are.”

Linda raised a brow cheekily, and stood up, doing a combo on the spot as well. She had no intention of instigating something, but Candace’s mouth formed an ‘o’ and then a smirk. Linda had no idea of what she had just started…

Candace then took off, skipping and tapping at the same time as she click-clacked off down the mall. Linda laughed, and followed after her, doing her own series of steps alongside Candace.

“Gimme a time step, girlie!” Linda said, stopping briefly with Candace. 

“This?” Candace asked, doing two time steps on the spot. “You got it! You got a buffalo to spare?”

Linda’s favorite move, duh she had them to spare! 

By now, they were attracting a small amount of attention - but not in a negative way. Everyone felt like this was something really sweet and nice, not a ‘what are they doing?’ type of thing. You could feel how happy the two were.

Linda and Candace continued to tap together around the mall, not even noticing the public that were watching them in absolute amazement. They weren’t the best, but they were certainly the happiest. And that had much more of an impact.

They eventually tapped past the jam area, where they originally intended to go, but they didn’t even notice it. They just continued dancing together, having an absolute time while doing so.

“Hey, look!” “What’re they doing? What is that?” “It looks fun!” “My… watermelon?” “I like her shoes!” the people watching the show said, all turning around or getting up to watch Linda and Candace in action, enjoying it way more than the current performance.

It turns out, the current performer was a local bully - a legit one. They were doing some beatboxing thing, but all of the attention was taken from their percussion performance and redirected to Linda and Candace’s tap dancing.

“W-Wait, h-uh?!” the dude exclaimed. “W-Where ya goin’?!”

“You had it coming, dude,” Buford said from the crowd. “Even I don’t stoop to your level. Putting gum in hair is never forgiven.”

Linda did a series of buffaloes and Candace re-did her favorite time steps to finish their performance, and when they both struck their finishing poses, they both received a massive round of applause. 

“O-Oh… d-did we-”

“Did we just tap dance around the mall?” Candace blushed, equally as red-faced as her mom. “Y-Yeah… yeah, we did.”

However, they were getting so much applause and congratulations, the embarrassment faded away quickly and they were both just plain happy. 

As they walked to the car, their day plenty made, Linda asked Candace, “Well, after that… what do you think about tap dancing in front of a crowd now?”

“I’m… warming up to it,” Candace shrugged, giggling. “I’ll need a bit more time to make up my mind, though.”

“Well, as long as that time is spent with you,” Linda smiled, “I really don’t mind what you say, dear.”

Candace beamed. “I love you so much, mom.”

“And I love you even more, sweetie,” Linda smiled, hugging Candace. 

And with that, the two got into the car, and both of them smiled as they looked down at their shoes… Today was certainly not what they had planned, but it was quite amazing nonetheless.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AYYYY IT'S BEEN WAY TOO DAMN LONG FAM
> 
> Ummm I would say something creative here but honestly I'm just so sorry I just left like that lol. When school kicks your ass, it makes sure to keep ye down.
> 
> But hey - here's some tappy girls to hopefully brighten your day <3

It was no secret to anyone that Linda loved tap dancing.

However, what took most people by surprise was how much she loved tap dancing in particular - it was half of the stuff she posted about on the social media she had, and also she would try to bring it up in conversation whenever possible.

But the part that had everyone thrown for a loop was her wearing her tap shoes whenever possible. 

Like, yes, everyone knew she liked it - but wow, she really enjoyed it. And to think it was by complete and utter accident that she and Candace even started taking those classes online.

And speaking of which, those were going great! They had mastered the basic stuff by now, and were moving on to more advanced steps and rhythms. They were even having days where they just improvised for an hour because it seemed more fun and beneficial to their tap dancing “careers”.

Anyway, right now was quite an interesting time - Lawrence had been called to a business conference about antique pottery (“How exciting! Though I would gladly break those pots if I got to come to you home earlier,” her husband had said, causing her to go all dreamy for the next five minutes.), and Phineas and Ferb were spending the night and next day at Buford’s place, talking about making a massive mech for themselves and their friends. What imaginative kiddos!

All in all, it was just her and Candace in the house for the next night and day or so - and they were using it about as you could predict it.

As the dinner for the two girls was cooking, Linda took a step back to wait a moment while everything settled…

Hardwood floor? And she had her tap shoes on? Come on, you all know where this is going.

Linda snapped out a beat, and proceeded to make music with her feet as she tapped around the kitchen. Ahh, that sound was so relaxing… she loved it to bits. 

And then, after her little tap dance was done, she heard someone she loved coming down the stairs. The sounds of click-clacks coming down the stairs alerted Linda of her daughter’s presence, and she looked up at her with pure happiness. “Evening hon!” Linda smiled.

“Evening mom!” Candace said. “Is dinner almost ready?”

“Two shuffles away!” Linda winked.

“Wow, that was awful,” Candace said.

The two then laughed out loud - tap puns were, to the chagrin of no one, becoming quite common these days in the Flynn-Fletcher household. Well, at least between the women of said household.

When dinner was ready, Linda and Candace sat together at the dining table and ate in comfortable silence for the majority of it. It wasn’t actually until the end that Candace spoke up.

“So, mom… I-I’ve got something I wanna ask you,” Candace said. “It’s about tap dancing.”

“Okay! Fire away!” Linda smiled.

“Well, first off - I wanna say, again, how much I’m adoring these lessons and improvisations we’ve done,” Candace smiled warmly. “It’s legit been my favorite part of summer.” “I’m so happy sweetie, I can’t emphasize how much I love tap dancing with you,” Linda beamed.

“Same here!” Candace said. “But I really wanted to ask you… t-there’s this girl-”

“I thought you were with Jeremy?” Linda asked.

“Wait, huh?” Candace asked, before realizing. “Oh no no no no!!! It’s not like that!” “Oh! My apologies!” The two then laughed it off, before Candace continued. “It’s Vanessa - you know her, right?”

“Yep, Charlene’s daughter - sweet girl!” Linda said. “What about her?” 

“Well… she texted me the other day, and showed me… she has tap shoes,” Candace said. Linda’s eyes widened a bit, a small smile curling on her lips. “A-And I just thought, well… could she please come over one day and tap with us?”

Linda’s smile was as wide as ever, her eyes excited and caring. “Candace, honey, let’s lay down a preface here - if _any_ of your friends show you they can tap dance, I’ll do my absolute best to make time for them to come over and dance with us, should they want to.”

“Yes!! Thank you thank you thank you!!” Candace said, running over and hugging her. “Can she come over tomorrow?”

“Do you love tap dancing as much as I do?” asked Linda, smirking.

“Uh, more so,” Candace said. “Mmm, debatable,” Linda chuckled, and the two girls laughed together once more. Candace decided to do the dishes tonight, which in and of itself was a whole new experience for Linda.

After thanking her daughter several times, Linda decided to go down to the basement and do some improv. She was so excited to meet Vanessa properly tomorrow!

And what better way to make a first impression than by tap dancing with someone?

**-0-**

“Hey Vanessa!” Candace said, plopping down on her bed as she held her phone up with the FaceTime app open. 

“Hey Candace,” Vanessa said, looking back at her with a slightly raised smile - this meant she was in a really good mood; Candace knew her well enough now to read her face, which was something few could testify to. “How are ya?”

“Really good, actually!” Candace smiled. “So hey, get this - my mom said you could come over and tap with us tomorrow!”

“Oh really? She actually agreed?” Vanessa asked, raising a brow but seeming pleasantly surprised.

“Yeah, she’s really excited actually!” smiled Candace. “I-Is there something wrong?”

“No! No not at all,” Vanessa said, “it's just, well… I haven’t put on tap shoes in years, much less actually danced. I’m just kinda nervous about it, y’know?”

“I totally get that!” Candace smiled. “But it’ll be so much fun, I can promise you that for sure! I love tap dancing so much.”

“I remember loving it too - fingers crossed it’ll be fun,” Vanessa smiled. “I can’t even lie, I’ve been click-clacking around my room all day. The sound is so nice and relaxing.”

“Right!” Candace said. “Oh my gosh, let me tell you about the time me and mom were tapping and then…”

And so, the two girls proceeded to talk for a good hour or so after that story, before they hung up for the night to meet again tomorrow afternoon. Candace was so excited - more tap friends was always a plus, right?

**Author's Note:**

> This story might legit end up being my fluffiest work ever, not even kidding. I've got a good chunk of chapter 2 done already, so hopefully I'll get that up shortly!
> 
> Thanks for reading all! Kudos/Comments are loved and appreciated! Stay safe out there, every one of you. You mean the world to me and to us all. <3 Love you guys!


End file.
